Amped up little vitamins of sweet Swedish rock, with Josephine Olausson’s
cheerleading vocals skewered on pigtail powerpop. She is
the focal point, and sharp with wit and pitch, but it’s the
spinning wheels of sax that can make Love is All supreme.
Not only does Josephine sing in English, she even demands
an “extra inning” on the leadoff cut. Idiom can save the
radio star? She likes clever wordplay and quick rhymes,
but she needs to work her kewpie doll magic to get sax
player Fredrik Eriksson back in the band. Johan Arrias
has evidently taken over the horn action, and on the
last track he delivers some circular spiral breathing,
but on other tracks Arrias mostly echoes a melody line.
He does add a little promising braying to “Sea Sick”.
But when you listen to Eriksson on “New Beginnings”
it feels like a much fuller project to my ears. Still
there’s plenty to enjoy without his flare, although the
ballads on side two aren’t my cup of tune. Drummer
Markus Gorsch is quick and crisp throughout. Olausson’s
definitely got starpower, but make sure she’s got the
firepower behind her!